Vending machines for separating and dispensing newspapers from a stack thereof, one at a time, to customers, following the insertion of proper coins, are disclosed in various prior U.S. patents, including the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,047, Owens PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,695, Pearson PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,175, Gordon PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,356, Gatti PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,859, Searle PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,518, Roser PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,406, Kent et al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,033, Graham
To my knowledge these prior art machines have not appeared in the marketplace, or at least have not engendered any widespread acceptance anywhere. I believe that the reasons for this are that they have been too complex, cumbersome, and expensive to manufacture and service, and have not been trouble-free in their operation by customers who are rough and careless in handling them.
At the present time, there is a considerable need for an effective and economical machine of this character which will, in a trouble-free manner, reliably dispense newspapers one at a time. The most popular newspaper vending machine presently in use, insofar as I have been able to determine, is the coin-operated machine which opens a door in the cabinet and gives the customer access to the whole stack of newspapers. Since newspapers contain valuable coupons which are usable in various retail stores to obtain free merchandise and/or discounts or, in some cases, money premiums, the need for a vending machine which assures that a customer will only be able to obtain the single paper that he pays for is long standing and considerable.
A prime object of the invention is to provide a coin-operated vending machine which assures the engagement and dispensing of only a single newspaper or like item in response to each individual operation of the coin-operated mechanism, without in any way tearing or jamming the newspaper being dispensed, or the underlying newspaper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin-operated machine of this character with modular components which can be readily and economically assembled, serviced, and repaired.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vending apparatus which discharges the item to be vended at a level adjacent the upper end of the machine and which has novel and improved mechanism for exerting a continuous upward pressure upon a stack of the newspapers to be vended.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a vending apparatus of the character described which is sufficiently versatile to dispense newspapers which, from day-to-day, may vary in thickness.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a vending machine of simple and economical construction which will operate in a trouble-free manner, and which is easily serviced in the sense of reloading the next day's newspapers to the machine.